The New Girl
by MrsHoldenCaulfield
Summary: A completely original story about some racial conflict that starts up in Tulsa when a black girl moves next door to the Curtises. PG13 for the whole racial thing. PonyboyJackie. R&R! UPDATED!
1. Arriving in Tulsa

**Okay, so basically what inspired me to write this was a movie called _A Bronx Tale _(which everyone should see)!**

**Summary: A black, 15-year-old girl comes to Tulsa...this is mainly a Ponyboy fic.**

**Warnings: Well, if you have some huge thing where you can't read anything about racial conflict and how it _really_ was in the 60s, then don't read this. **

**Rated PG-13 for a little bit of profanity, a good deal of racial slurs/offensive racial comments (—don't worry, I won't get carried away with it)**

**Chapter 1: Arriving in Tulsa**

I was too damn tired for moving. I didn't exactly want to hear my mother yelling for me to help out with the boxes either, but I forced myself to get up. As I made my way outside, I stopped by a full-size mirror that had just been unloaded from the moving truck.

_God, I hate this_, I thought wiping small beads of sweat away with a handkerchief.

"Jacklyn!!!" I rolled my eyes as I continued on my path out the door.

"Yeah, mom?" My mother also looked rather hot under the bright rays of the sun. She was carrying a large box rather easily. My mom's kind of strong compared to your average 32-year-old woman. She had a very stressed expression on her face, and I felt a pang of guilt in my heart–for what, I don't know. I always felt guilty when she had to work double shifts or when she had to stay up all night to finish her homework for the college she was attending. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have to go through all this..._Well, it's not my fault_. My mother had always told me not to blame myself for things that couldn't be helped, but I still couldn't help but think back on the story she told me a few years ago: the night of her seventeenth birthday, the night she had been brutally raped by her own boyfirend.

I cringed at the memory of the tears that had filled her eyes when she finally completed her story through all the uncontrollable sobs. I guess she must have noticed that wasn't exactly in tune with the world around me because instead of completing her request for me to help her with the boxes, she finished the job by herself.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't try to help her or anything. I did, but she just told me to at least get out of the way of the movers if I wasn't going to do anything, so I did.

I ventured over to the car and decided to see what was on the radio. I turned the key just enough to have the car on without actually starting it and sunk back into the front seat, closing my eyes to the sound of The Cadillacs, one of my favorite groups:

_The girl I love, she's going away._

_The girl I love, she's going to stay._

_I'll dream of her each day she's gone._

_Her love was true and I was true._

I could feel my eyes getting heavy even though I'd slept during the whole car ride to Tulsa.

"Hey, it's Sleeping Beauty!" screamed a shrill voice.

My eyelids sprang open as I came face to face with a greasy-haired hood. His gray eyes were probably only a few inches away from mine and let me tell you, that was certainly the most uncomfortable position I've ever been in. His breath smelled strongly of stale cigarettes and the scent just about suffocated me as he let out a loud guffaw right in my face.

Suddenly, my vision was cleared as another boy pulled his friend (I guess) away from me. I hopped out of the car, frustrated with the four boys that had gathered around me.

"Sorry, Two-Bit here gets a little rowdy sometimes. I'm Sodapop." The guy that had gotten Two-Bit away from me, stuck out his hand, politely smiling. He was around average height and was real good-looking to say the least. He also had an adorable smile.

Reluctantly, I took his hand, curiously gazing at the people on either side of me.

"Oh," he said, realizing my predicament, and introduced them all.

There was Johnny Cade who was kind of small and shy-looking. He sort of grinned at me underneath a wall of black bangs that fell over his eyes.

Standing beside him was Ponyboy, who Sodapop classified as his younger brother. He was shy too, like Johnny, but not so much. He was good-looking also (believe me, he really was.......) with reddish-brown hair that was slicked back behind his ears in an _extremely_ flattering way. His eyes were a light shade of green, contrasting the creamy color of his skin...

I brought myself back to life when Two-Bit asked what my name was. Normally, I wouldn't tell just anybody my name, or I'd at least give them a phony one, but I guess I just wasn't thinking too clearly anymore.

"Jacklyn...well, you can call me Jackie."

Soda nodded, looking around at the truck sitting in the driveway.

"Where are you from," he asked, running a hand through his heavily oiled hair.

"New Jersey," I responded, suddenly feeling extremely homesick.

"Jersey, that's up near New York right?" Ponyboy rolled his eyes at Two-Bit's question, which I was about to answer when my mom called me inside.

"Well, I have to go..." I said quickly, feeling the silences that seemed to be sneaking into our conversation start to thicken.

I began to jog back towards the house, pausing for a moment as Sodapop called after me, "Hey, how about we show you around sometime?"

I shrugged and said "Okay." They headed back to a house diagonal from my new home.

"Who were those boys," my mom asked as I entered the door.

"Just some neighbors, I guess," I said, plopping down on the only vacant space on our couch.

"Alright, but be careful, alright?"

She had a worried expression on her face, so I just nodded instead of questioning her motives like I had the habit of doing lately. I didn't exactly know what she meant by 'be careful', but I wasn't going to argue.

**Okay, people, not much action going on in the first chapter, but it will pick up by number 2. Please read and review, maybe some ideas...? **

**Oh yeah, and if you have read my other fic ("The Boy in the Next Row") and you are constantly asking yourself where the hell does she get all these songs from, then I suggest you refer to ! I don't think you could find them anywhere else! See ya at the next chapter!**


	2. The Guys

Yay, people like my story! (Hey, I'm actually gonna get it right and sneak in the stupid site that I've been trying to get people to see for years: the doo wop jukebox . com –no spaces, of course! Now that that's all over with, let's get it on with!!!

**Disclaimer: (I forgot it in the first chapter!) I don't own anyone except for anyone that you guys don't recognize...**

**Chapter 2: The Guys**

Around 6 PM on a Saturday afternoon, my doorbell rang. I was supposed to be meeting "the rest of the gang" at their home, which was a few houses down from mine. They hadn't said anything about picking me up though, so I continued perfecting my hair as my mother answered the door.

I just about knocked my whole desk over when I heard my mom yell to me, "Jackie, people are here, so make sure you're dressed!"

_Oh god! _I thought in embarrasment frantically picking up all of my things off of the carpet.

Just then, Sodapop and another dark-haired, sort of mean-looking boy almost kicked my door in, running to my bed and bouncing on it like hyper little...monkeys. My room was still pretty empty, containing only my bed and my desk (which currently looked like an out of sync library). When the guys had finally settled down, they were both out of breath and my mother was standing in the doorway, looking as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Umm...Are these the people that are going to show you around the neighborhood, Jacklyn?"

I nodded, giving her an I-really-had-no-idea-that-they-were-like-this look. The dark-haired boy rolled off of the bed and shook my hand, introducing himself as Steve. Soda was now examining all of the books on my desk.

"Hey, Steve, look at this," he exclaimed, holding up an extremely old copy _The Great Gatsby_, "Just like Pony, ain't she?"

Steve nodded, and said (a little impatiently), "How about we go ahead and get out of here?"

Soda nodded and motioned for me to follow the two of them. I informed my mother that I was just going across the street and that I would be back by ten-thirty (at which Soda and Steve rolled their eyes) and we left.

Apparently Sodapop was always quite the hyper one. As we walked over to his house, he was doing all types of strange movements and dances that would probably be described as...dangerously deadly to the normal-jointed person. (A/N: "Normal-jointed"...hmm)

In a matter of about two minutes–including every time we had to pause in order to obey Sodapop's constant order, "Hey, look at this!"–we arrived at a dingy little house, not much different from my new quarters.

"Ah, the palace," Soda announced, accidently tripping on one of the steps. He blushed and I couldn't help but smile at how adorable it looked.

You could practically feel the blaring music from outside of the door, which Soda swung open (much like how he'd opened my door) and waited for me to enter.

"Thank you," I muttered as I stepped into the living room.

Steve lowered the music considerably, causing everybody present, and even some that had been in the kitchen, to look around curiously. By then, I think they had all noticed me standing there, because their rowdiness had come to a complete stop and five guys were staring all staring at me with various expressions.

My eyes searched the room, desperate for someone to say anything–no one did. _I knew this was a bad idea coming here_, I thought regretfully, _Maybe I could just say that I forgot something at home and just not come back...no, that would be kind of awkward..._

I just kind of stared at the wall, trying not to look quite as embarrassed as I obviously was.

"Hey, Jackie, right?" I heard a voice say finally. I looked up, right into the grayish-green eyes of the one and only Ponyboy. I'd only met him once, not even saying more than two words to him, but once again, I was smitten.

I knew I was probably blushing furiously which made become suddenly thankful for my dark skin. I didn't even know why I was so hung up over a..._white_ boy. I mean, I can't say I was too great with any certain type of guy, but there was some...unsaid law that white guys were completely, unarguably OFF LIMITS. And my mother–what would she think if she knew I was getting a crush on him? I mean, she's not racist or anything, but she's been done a lot of wrong in her life by these people...the exact reason I was brought into this world.

(A/N: Okay, remember in the previous chapter, she said her mom had been raped on her seventeenth birthday? Well, it was by a white boy. I REALLY REALLY don't want to offend anyone out there. I am completely against any type of racism, but I have to be realistic, right???)

I nodded, still aware of the silence in the room. Ponyboy was smiling at me and motioned for me to sit down. As I placed my self down on the floor next to that Two-Bit guy, Ponyboy sitting down beside me, everyone seemed to kind of snap back to reality.

"How's it goin', Sleeping Beauty," Two-Bit began slinging an arm over me, which I just let hang there. I guess I didn't really know what to do...I mean, I've never really been in that predicament before or anything. And well, I figured he was just kind of playing around. I shrugged, avoiding his eyes.

Ponyboy snorted and removed Two-Bit's arm from around me as if it was the most grotesque thing in the world.

"C'mon, Two-Bit, lay off 'er. You'll scare her to death fore she even has a chance to meet everyone."

Two-Bit just rolled his eyes and I sighed, smiling gratefully at Ponyboy. He smiled back politely and asked if I wanted to play "Eternity", holding up a deck of playing cards.

"Eternity?" I asked. I didn't really play cards, but I don't think there's a such thing.

"Yeah, it's something me and Johnny made up."

He shuffled the cards skillfully, then split it into three stacks, handing one to me and one to Johnny.

"Just put a card down," he explained, demonstrating, "and then somebody else puts a card down" (Johnny put his down) "and if just keep doing that until someone gets the same number."

We did that for a while until my eight matched Johnny's.

"Now, you take all the cards and we just keep playing until someone has all of the cards."

I nodded, still a little confused.

"Well, why is it called Eternity?"

Ponyboy grinned at Johnny, who looked rather disappointed with what the fifteen cards to twenty cards he was holding in his hand, "because nobody wins."

I was still confused, but after about an hour of playing, I completely understood.

**Ponyboy's P. O. V.**

I knew Jackie would like Eternity, though it was probably the most childish game on the planet–even Darry did. I was glad that I had thought of it right when she came–something to take everyone's mind of of that burning question: _I know Soda's a ladies' man, but a black girl...?_ There weren't a lot of black people around our neighborhood, just one or two. I don't think Dally really cared about that kind of stuff. I think maybe Soda was just being nice, along with Darry

I remember, once, I'd read this book _Native Son_ by Richard Wright and it had really got me thinking about all this stuff between races and all. I'd asked Darry what he thought about the subject, but he just said that I was probably a little too young to really understand fully. I don't what he meant by "too young". It's not like it wasn't all over the news and everything–sit-ins and marches and a whole bunch of stuff for civil rights and all that. I didn't really like hearing about stuff like that, so I didn't watch the news, therefore I'd only overheard Darry and Soda talking about it once...I don't really know what _I _thought about it, though.

I couldn't really see what harm it could do to just _associate_ with a black girl... I mean, she was nice and all, so I don't think it made _too _much of a difference, but then again...

I could just see it now: "Ponyboy, you never use your head do you?"...but Darry wouldn't have a problem with me having a black friend, would he?

I was kind of confused, and my thoughts were really jumbled up because the three of us were so consumed in the card game, so I just decided to let it go.

Jackie was laughing extremely hard at Johnny's frustration with his bad luck and I couldn't help but think: _You know, she's kind of pretty too..._

I could have almost laughed at myself then..I mean, this was a black girl–well, not that there's anything wrong with black girls it's just...well, it's like some unwritten law that they were all OFF-LIMITS.

Sure, I could have her as a friend, but–c'mon now, I ain't dumb.

(A/N: Sure, Pony! You're just being really naive right now...)

**Well, I think maybe that's all for today. I don't know if Pony's POV even made since, but it's kind of hard to pull that off without making TONS of mistakes. I think he'll just get some refreshments on his thought in the next chapter....He he, it's time for a Darry Lecture! Umm...I hope I didn't make that part _too _bad. Maybe I can just blame it on him being a little too naive sometimes and not using his head and all that... Please Review (and don't be too harsh! EEEEK!) Oh yeah, and here's some thanks:**

**Jorjor and Angry Princess13 and PoetTears: Yeah, I always love my first reviewers!!!**

**ponyisgoldxxx: don't worry it's all comin' up soon!**

**Ponygurl09: I'm glad you like the idea! I actually got kind of discouraged about it yesterday, thinking about whether I should continue or not, but the show must go on!**

**Now, I have to leave you wonderful fanfiction-ers and start on a new chapter for my other fic!**


	3. The Worst Day of School

**Why, hello, people! I spent most of my time in church writing down ideas for this chapter, so I hope it turns out okay. (And there'll be a little bit of action in this chapter–just for you, ponyisgoldxxx–and more interaction with the guys!)**

**Ponygurl9: **Thank you for your encouragement! It's reviewers like you that keep me going!

**TrunksGRL13: **Thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you're getting into it–I am too!

**AngryPrincess13: **Really? What's the name of the story?!

**PoetTears: **Lol!!! I'll take heed to your advice!

**Ok, now that we've got the important stuff over with, let's start with the story!**

**oh yeah, and I wanted to clear something up: the whole rape situation—okay, Jackie's mom was raped by a white guy on her _fifteenth_ birthday!!! She got married (against her parents' consent) at the age of seventeen, therefore she had Jackie**. I realized that if Jackie's dad was white, then she wouldn't be completely black...which I just want her to be just because it makes it more...intense...? ooh, not the right word, but anyways.****

**Chapter 3: The Worst Day of School**

(Jackie's POV)

Today is the worst day of school–the first. I can't say that wasn't nervous enough already, living in a new town and everything.

My mother had offered me a ride, but I had insisted on walking. Let's just say I was hoping I would run into a certain group of boys on the way...

'_Oh, god,' _I thought, smacking myself on the forehead, _'They probably have cars of their own'_

I frowned at my absent-mindedness as I passed the Curtis residence. The house seemed unusually quiet, compared to its rowdy state on Saturday night.

Just as I had suspected, there was no car in the driveway...

My day did not get any better when I reached school. Just as I walked through the double doors, I spotted the last of the kids rushing to class as the bell rang. I shook my head disappointedly and pulled a small, creased paper from between the pages of _A Separate Peace_, one of my favorite novels.

My first period of the day would be spent in Physical Science II with Mr. Kowchevski in room 618. Well, it didn't take me long to find that class, since it was merely around the corner and down the hall.

I knocked on the door and waited patiently. A tall, blonde, curly-haired boy, dressed in a blue cardigan and khakis answered the door, immediately surprised by my figure standing there.

"Um, hi," I mumbled quietly as I noticed nearly the whole class turn to see who had appeared at the door, "I'm new and this is supposed to be my first period."

The teacher (evidently Mr. Kowchevski) stood at the front of the room with the same expression on his face as his students, speaking hesitantly.

"Is that what it says on your schedule?"

I looked over the schedule that was still clutched in my hand and nodded. He motioned for me to bring it over to him, which I did, a little confused at how awe-struck everyone seemed to be–hadn't they had a new student before?

Mr. Kowchevski shook his balding head slowly and wrote something down on my schedule.

"This is your _correct _class. It was probably just a silly mistake."

I took back the slip of paper and examined it. "Kowchevski" was scratched out and "Whitman" had been written in blue ink above it.

I nodded, not really sure how he could automatically tell that I was in the wrong in class, and ventured into the halls yet again.

After a moment of just standing there, motionlessly, I spotted a faculty member coming my way, holding a large stack of papers in one arm and a light folder in the other."Excuse me," I said, as she slowed down her hurried pace, "Could you tell me where Mr. Whitman's classroom is?"

"It's Mrs. Whitman," she said, beginning on her path again, "and if you'd follow me, I would gladly lead you to _my _classroom."

I shifted my books to my left arm, offering to carry some of her papers. After a moment of contemplating, she nodded and plopped the heavier stack in my right arm.

By the time we had reached her class, which was on the second floor, on the other side of the school, my arms felt like they were just about the fall of.

She waltzed through the door, to be greeted by about twenty to twenty-five teenagers in what any civilized person would call "unruly actions".

I placed the load that had been unfortunately resting in my arms on the nearest desk and waited patiently (once again) as Mrs. Whitman made adjustments to the roll call.

"Well...?"

"Jacklyn," I stated.

"Yes, Jacklyn. You can take a seat–there's some in the back row."

I glanced at the expectant class, who had become considerably quiet, compared to their previous state. For a second, I didn't really know what to do. There was a vacant seat beside a girl that didn't look the least bit welcoming and there was another in between two–_'hey, it's Two-Bit...and Johnny!'_

I sighed gratefully as Two-Bit waved with that same grin that he seemed to never wipe off his face. I had briefly wondered if they would invite me to sit beside me or if they would pretend not to notice me standing there helplessly, but evidently, they were better than your average...people.

A few people turned to shoot dirty looks at the two people that had just saved me from my first-day-humiliation (–momentarily, at least).

"Alright, everybody," began Mrs. Whitman after things had quieted a little, "there's no pressure–it's just the first day"

"Unfortunately!" Immediately, as if expecting it, the class broke into laughter at Two-Bit's comment.

"_And_" continued Mrs. Whitman. I guess she was pretty used to those types of things, "we're just going to see what you guys know. There's no way any of you will get through the first semester without knowing the basics...."

Everyone groaned.

'_Wow,' _I thought, a smirk forming on my face, _'these kids are really into the whole students-who-respond-to-everything-you-say cliche, aren't they?'_

Mrs. Whitman was drawing some type of map on the board which consisted of a series of boxes, branching off each other.

"What is in this box," she asked rapping on the box on the very top.

_Matter_, I thought, almost instantly.

After a few looks of bewilderment, a thin, blonde girl in the corner answered "matter?"

"Yes," Mrs. Whitman exclaimed, sounding rather surprised. In her swiveling cursive, she wrote the word 'matter' in the box and asked, slightly more confident this time, "and what are the two types of matter?"

The students looked around at each other, as if they could find the answer there.

I raised my hand, mumbling to myself "How easy is that? –Substance and Solution."

"No one knows?"

I stretched my hand as high as I could, waving it frantically.

Mrs. Whitman frowned suddenly, shaking her head and wrote two words in the two boxes below 'matter'–'substance' and 'solution'.

I reluctantly lowered my hand, confused.

'_I could have sworn she saw me!'_

"And what are the two types of substances?" This time, Mrs. Whitman, did not turn from the board

"Element and Compound," I said aloud.

I didn't flinch under the gazes of the students who had all turned in their seats to stare at me.

"Excuse me, _Jacklyn_," began Mrs. Whitman, putting an extra emphasis on my name, "but in this class, we do not just yell out random answers." She was now facing me, eyes narrowed. Instead of meeting her gaze, I turned to Johnny who shrugged and continued scribbling on a notepad.

"Does _anyone_ know the answer to this question?" She acted as if nobody in the class had just told her!

She rolled her eyes as Two-Bit's hand shot up, but reluctantly called on him, "And what smart comment do you have for me this time, Keith?"

"Uh, it's Two-Bit, and the answer is Element and Compound."

My eyes widened as I shot the rusty-haired greaser beside me an angry look, my mouth hanging open. Two-Bit didn't even look at me, just snickered and pretended to be caught up in reading the cover page of his textbook.

"Well, Mr. Matthews," drawled Mrs. Whitman, filling in the vacant spaces under 'substance', "you might actually be passing my class this time."

The girl that had been quietly sitting beside Two-Bit leaned over and whispered sarcastically, "Yeah, _Mr. Matthews_, I'm surprised you can even pronounce compound–"

"He couldn't," I said, also leaning over Two-Bit, "he doesn't know a _damn_ thing. He just–"

"Jacklyn!"

The girl and I straightened as soon as the words had escaped our teacher's lips, Two-Bit trying rather unsuccessfully to muffle his laughter.

"And another thing we do not do in this classroom is swear!"

I hung my head, figuring I'd better at least pretend to be ashamed of what I'd done. I'm not the trouble-making type of girl, in fact, I'm probably one of the best behaved students there is, but I was already frustrated with the days events.

"Detention," she declared as my eyes met hers (by that time, I probably looked as if I'd seen a ghost). "And it's a shame too–on the first day of school..."

I buried my head in my hands at the thought of detention. I'd never had detention before–_ever_.

And let me tell you, it didn't exactly help matters thinking of what my mother would say, or when I walked into study hall at three-fifteen that afternoon to find Ponyboy Curtis sitting in the very classroom that I was to for the next hour.

**Alright, I think that's all for now! The next chapter will describe what happens in detention, so don't worry yer pants off–I'll update soon, I promise. Oh yeah, and there's some major fluffiness coming up in the next...three (?) Chapters, which I'm extremely eager to write. Remember–reviewers are ALWAYS good!**


	4. Detention with Pony

**Hey, guess what everybody? It's a brand new chapter from me! Yayyy! **

**ponyisgoldxxx: Why yes, that is what I'm trying to get to work right now...not exactly sure how, though...but I'll figure it out!**

**Dontworryaboutit: Wow, I'm glad you like it! Hmmm...A lunchroom full of kids...slight scary image...**

**AngryPrincess13: Ah yes, the teacher 'tis quite a pain in the rump! Well, oh well–Pony'll make up for it in this chapter!**

**Chapter 4: Detention with Pony**

(Jackie)

"What are you doing here?" I whispered as I slid in the seat beside Ponyboy. As if my question had angered him, his eyebrows furrowed and he muttered something under his breath.

"I'm not even supposed to be here," he exclaimed–well, as much as you possibly could exclaim when you're whispering, "I came in a _little_ late and everybody jumps on me! I swear..."

He then banged his fist (lightly, of course) on the desk he was sitting in. That's what sent me into a fit of laughter. He just looked funny angry, especially since every other time I'd seen him, he was always so quiet and shy. He was now looking at me like I was crazy, and I can't blame him, because if you saw me sitting in the desk shaking silently with my face turning some shade of scarlet, I must have really looked the part.

After about thirty seconds of my non-stop giggling, Ponyboy finally cracked a grin. And as soon as he did, I stopped. I had realized that maybe he thought I was flirting or something...my mother had warned me about that–giving off the wrong "signals".

I wasn't exactly feeling him up, but you have to be careful with guys like him, especially if you didn't know them real well.

"What?" he asked when I stopped laughing so suddenly.

I just shook my head. I kind of felt a little guilty for being so suspicious of his intentions, but I didn't want to get into the same predicament my mother had. It always scared me to think of that. That's probably why I'm so uncomfortable around guys sometimes. Every time I would start to have a good time with one, I'd always think of that and get all tense and nervous. For example, that time Two-Bit put his arm around me, it scared the hell out of me. I mean, I completely freaked out and thought they'd all tricked me or something; trapped me in a house with six guys.

Now, I had it on my mind to keep to myself during the rest of detention, especially since Mrs. Whitman was beginning to give me some looks that could probably be considered as threats. Too bad for me, Ponyboy seemed to have it on _his _mind to keep up the communication I had begun.

"So, how long are you in here for?" He kept running his right hand through his oiled hair and wiping it on his jeans; I guess it was just a habit.

"Thirty minutes," I said quietly as he shifted in his desk to face me.

**Pony**

I seriously needed to wash my hands by the time I had to go. I had plowed my hand–the same hand–through the right side of my hair just about a miliion times. I was pretty sure I had rubbed all the grease out of my hair and onto my jeans (which seemed to be suffocatingly tight on this particular day).

"Alright, Mr. Curtis," announced Mrs. Whitman, scaring me out of my reverie, "you can leave."

I began to gather my books slowly, noticing that I had been in here for almost an hour.

'_Wasn't Jackie only supposed to be in here for thirty minutes?' _I got her attention and pointed to the clock above Mrs. Whitman's head.

"Uh...Mrs. Whitman?"

"Yes?!" The science teacher spoke as if she had just been called on as many times as I'd ran my hand though my hair in the past sixty minutes.

"Isn't I time for me to go?" Jackie spoke rather cautiously.

Mrs. Whitman merely rolled her eyes behind her thick, silver-rimmed spectacles and waved us out of the classroom.

I left and began to make my way home, but then thought better of it and decided to wait a little for Jackie. As I waited, I re-shaped my hair with a comb, using the mirror of some Socy-looking car.

Sure enough, seconds later, a figure of a girl appeared in the mirror. I pretended not to notice her at first, but I saw the look on Jackie's face when she saw me. Her mouth hung open briefly in the shape of an O; then, I guess she realized that I was looking at her because she dropped her eyes to ground and began walking away briskly.

"Hey," I yelled to her, but before the words 'wait up' could even escape my lips, I saw a Soc who just happened to be passing by at that moment stick out his foot which was enough to send Jackie's books flying from her arms, bringing her down with them.

"What the hell, is your problem!" I nearly screamed, not thinking about the consequences of that phrase.

"What is she," the Soc snarled, shoving me back, "is she your girlfriend?"

As much as I fought for it not to, I could feel my face growing hot. My expression didn't falter though...maybe I could play it off as anger.

"So what if she is!"

'_Oh god, that didn't really come out right.'_

For a while, the Soc just stood there laughing at me and smart ol' me just got too damned frustrated with that, so I hit him.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking: why the hell did you have to go and hit him? Well, my older brother, Darry, always says I don't use my head, so I guess this is an extremely perfect example.

Well, you probably know what happened next: punch, punch, punch, spit in face; all dedicated to me from Mr. Socialite. And to my great despair, Jackie just stood there, apparently in awe at how badly I could get my ass kicked.

After I had wiped that disgusting spit off my face with my sleeve, I looked up at the Soc who was now glaring at Jackie.

"Next time, you'd just better teach your nigger-lovin'-white-trash-greaser boyfriend to keep his words and his greasy hands away from me, you hear?"

He looked down at me, and for a second, I thought he was just going to walk away, and at first he did...but then, just as I began to stand up, he kicked me square in the ribs with his sneakers, landing me right back on the ground.

I stayed there, too, until I was sure he was gone, and even then, I didn't want to get up. I just laid down, with my hands resting over the spot on my side where I'd just been kicked, staring at the sky.

"Ponyboy?"

I turned my head slightly to see Jackie's tear-stained face not far from mine, as she was kneeling beside my body. She sighed and tried to help me up by the arms, which were just about the only places that weren't hurting at that moment. The only thing she accomplished was getting me into a sitting position, and I did the rest of the work. She kept looking at me with this worried look like a was a little kid or something.

She took the scarf that was tied around her waist and held it up to my nose. I can imagine how hard that must have been, considering that I kept pulling away from her touch.

"Just hold still," she said sounding a little annoyed with my childish antics, "You're bleeding all over the place, and you can't even be mature about it."

She handed me the cloth, then began picking up the books she had dropped.

"You know," her voice was a lot softer now and when she turned back around her almond-shaped/colored eyes met mine, "I'm sorry I didn't help you out...but..."

I could tell she was trying to hold back tears, but they just came anyway.

"That's okay," I managed to say. My own voice sounded kind of warped or something, like I had just woken up or something, "I don't think you would have done any better than me."

She didn't seem to believe me for a second, then she wiped her tears away and muttered a 'See ya.'

"Well," I called after her (I would have jogged after her, but as soon as I tried, I just about collapsed), "Can't I walk ya home?"

She turned back around–again with those eyes–and shrugged. I walked slowly towards her as she waited for me and when I reached her, she took my books from out of my arms.

"Does your side still hurt?"

I nodded, even though the pain had already started to lessen.

I kind of wanted her to do something for that injury too, for some reason......okay, I know why, but that doesn't mean I have to admit it! What am I going to do, wrap my arms arouond the most beautiful black girl...the most beautiful _girl_ I've ever seen, and say "Kiss me, damnit." while a waterfall of blood is washing over my face...well, it worked for Scarlett...sort of.

I never thought I would like a black girl. I mean, I wasn't against black girls or nothing, but like I said, it was just like you weren't supposed to _like _one like I liked Jackie. I couldn't help it though, she was really pretty and she seemed sort of smart and nice. She was nice in the way that Soda's girlfriend was, though, she seemed to have a little more attitude...or something like that. She wasn't that classical, Marilyn Monroe pretty either. I can't really explain it and it's quite uncomfortable trying to anyway.

"You know, I have no clue why you choose to stick around, especially after what just happened." She said all of this very matter-of-factly. Sure, she seemed almost as shy as Johnny, but she still had that attitude thing.

"Well, maybe I want some company." my voice seemed to have returned back to its natural state.

"Company?"

I nodded and tried to think of something else to say. I noticed her notebooks which were covered with pictures of a bunch of groups.

"Who are they?" I pointed to the objects clutched to her chest and she looked at me like I was crazy.

"What, you don't know?"

"Well," I said, examining the pictures a little more closely. "Ain't that the Belmonts?"

She rolled her eyes and nodded.

"What, you don't like them?" I wasn't too fond of Dion himself, but he was pretty okay in The Belmonts.

She shrugged and smiled slightly.

"They're pretty good, but...way too overrated."

"What about Elvis?"

Once again, she gave me one of those looks.

"Aw, Elvis was pretty cool with the first few singles, but after that," she shook her head disapprovingly, "All hell broke loose. I like doo-wop more anyways."

"Oh...like the Cadillacs and all?"

I'd heard about the Cadillacs, that they were kind of crazy on stage.

"The Cadillacs are great, but The Channels," by now, she had this smile on her face as if she was remembering something, "that Earl Lewis suurrre is one hell of a looker."

I'd heard of Earl Lewis...now I was itching to see exactly what he looked like.

"Which one's that?"

She pointed to a photograph in the very center...he wasn't all _that _great, or at least I didn't think so.

We reached my house a little too quick for my liking, and just as I suspected, my eldest brother came rushing out as if there was a fire after him.

"Ponyboy Mich–Jesus Christ, what happened to your face!"

I rolled my eyes as everyone rushed over to get a peek at my face.

"Damn, you look worse than my aunt Lenny," began Two-Bit, but he couldn't finish his statement because he had started to laugh so hard by then.

"It has been almost two hours since school let out, you know that?" Darry was now pacing the front yard angrily, "And that doesn't look like it took no two hours."

"Well, I had detention," I said, slapping Two-Bit's wandering hand away from the bruise on my cheek.

"DETENTION!"

Everyone jumped at Darry's booming voice.

"Ponyboy, what the hell! First you get your face knocked in, then you get detention! I can't believe you! You're grounded...for a month–"

"Uh, it was my fault!"

Everyone now turned to Jackie, who seemed to have disappeared in all of the confusion.

"I...I got lost and asked Pony where to go...then a teacher saw us...and she thought we were skipping."

_Wow,_ I thought absent-mindedly, _She sure thought well under pressure_.

"Then, when we left detention, some guy just comes and called me...well, you can guess, and Ponyboy was just trying to defend me and..."

"Well," said Darry, sounding awfully nice for what he was saying, "Ponyboy should have used his head and known that–"

"Yeah, I know, but..." suddenly, her hands flew to her face and she let out a couple of sobs, "I just don't want him to get into trouble because of me and–and–and"

Darry sighed and put his hand on her shoulder, "It's okay, he's not in trouble."

She nodded, her hands still covering her face.

She looked up at him and I could see tear stains on her cheeks...but they were the same ones that had formed there earlier.

Darry yelled for Two-Bit, Steve, and Soda to go back inside and for me to follow. I stopped for a second to wave to Jackie and she waved back with a grin on her face and winked.

"See ya, tomorrow, Ponyboy..."

**Alrighty, that's about it! Hope you guys enjoyed it...(Hey has anyone gone on the site yet???)...Read and review and tell all your friends about it!**


	5. Talks and Walks

**Okay, guys, I know, I know: I haven't updated in a loonng time. I won't hold it against you if you hate me forever and ever and...well, you get the point.**

**And no fair, how come there's only two reviews for the last chapter! Well, oh well, that's what I get for not updating in such a long time! Well, thanx to you two, and thanx ponyisgoldxxx for the chapter 3 review!**

**Oh yeah, and I was just wonderin', what's up with all the bad fics lately?...well, they're not bad, they just don't have that 60s attitude or whatever. The girls (that aren't even greaser girls) are walking around with tube tops and daisy dukes??? That makes no sense! And what about the music? I mean, yeah, I know not a lot of people really know about some of the music back then, but I mean there _are _popular songs...in fact, even if you don't know what the 60s are, you could at least use some common sense and not use songs by...50 Cent or something in your story...well, that's just my opinion, and as my dad always say: "Everyone has an opinion, and they all stink." so who cares what I think? Well, I do, but you know what I mean! Anyways, on with the show!**

**Chapter 5: Talks and Walks**

****

"So, Pony, what was that all about?!"

I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore Sodapop...well, we all know how hard that is.

"I think Ponyboy has a girlfriend," Two-Bit began.

That was it. I couldn't take this incessant torturing any longer, and decided to just go to room and try to read or do my homework or something.

Well, that, too, was impossible, considering I couldn't get Jackie off of my mind. It was beginning to get a little annoying too, so I just laid on my bed and stared up at the ceiling...alright, alright, so I was still thinking about her, so what!

I heard the door open slowly and sat up, preparing myself for anyone that had dared to interrupt my thoughts. It was Darry.

"Oh, it's just you," I said laying back down.

He sat down in the chair at my desk and just sat there for a while with his hands in his lap. I knew he probably wanted to talk to me about something, but I pretended not to notice.

"Uh, Pony, about that girl..."

_'Girl? Oh god, please let this not be a sex talk...'_

"Jackie? What about her?"

He was quiet for a few moments, making me even more nervous about what he would say next.

"Well, Pony, I know ya like her and all, but--"

I rolled my eyes and sat up. All this talk about her was gettin' pretty annoying.

"Look, Darry, I know what you're gonna say: 'keep your nose in your books, Ponyboy, not on girls'."

Hell, we'd had this talk millions of times and I sure did not want to have to sit through another one.

""Yeah, that's true, but..." Geez, he certainly seemed to be having a hard time with getting this out, "There are just certain things in the world that don't work."

"Like me and her?"

He looked as if he didn't really want to answer, then reluctantly, "Yeah, Pony, like you and her...she's--"

"Black and I'm white, yeah I know," I finished for him angrily. Did he think I hadn't already thought about that?

"Look," he said, a little more sternly. I think he was starting to get frustrated with the way I was acting, interrupting and all, "I'm sure she's a nice girl, but...it'd just be better for you and for her that you don't get too hung up on each other."

I stood up furiously. What the hell was he talking about?! Nobody even said there was anything going on between us...okay, some people did, but that doesn't mean it's true.

"We...Nothing even happened between us, alright!"

He stood up also, which was enough to get me to shutup.

"Yeah, well, if nothing's goin' on, then why you got that scar on ya face, huh!"

I was dumbfounded, having forgot about what had happened earlier almost completely.

"Things like that happen, Pony, when you're not careful." His eyes got a little softer and he put a hand on my should awkwardly, "I just...don't want you to have any trouble just cause ya like someone."

I felt like hitting him or running out or something, but you just don't do that with Darry, so I just stood there with my face growing hotter by the minute.

_later on that evening..._

"Sodapop?"

He groaned and turned his head to look at me. It was so dark, I could barely see his features, but I could still tell he hadn't really been sleeping too heavily.

"What do you think about Jackie?"

He sighed deeply and sat up on his knees turning on the lamp beside our bed. For a while, we both squinted, trying to readjust our eyes to the light, then he sat back and leaned his head on the wall behind us.

"I don't know, Pon'."

I frowned, dissapointed with his answer.

"Well, do you think she's pretty at least?"

He thought about it for a minute, running his hand through his blonde hair.

"Well, yeah, she's pretty, but..."

My eyes narrowed. I prayed he wouldn't say the same thing Darry had. Soda was supposed to be understanding. "But what? But she's black?"

Okay, yeah, I know I was jumping to conclusions, but what else could it possibly be that had everyone all upset?

"Now, c'mon, I didn't say that."

"Yeah, but that's what you meant."

He just looked at me for a second, then stood up and grabbed some jeans and his jacket.

"What are you doing?"

I tried to keep my voice down, but hell, I didn't know Soda was even completely awake!

"We're goin' for a walk."

He said it as if there was nothing extremely unusual about going for a walk in the middle of the night.

"Where?"

"It don't matter, just come on."

I stared up at my brother, bewildered at what his motive could possibly be, but regardless of my thoughts, I got out of bed, threw on some clothes and we headed out.

**Ha ha ha ha ha, you can't read chapter 6! Well, I act like someone just died or something, but still, you can't read it until I decide you can! But, while you're waiting, you can always review! (He, he, he, I'm so sneaky!)**


	6. The Other Side of Town

**Alright, kill me–I haven't updated in...1 month and 14 days!!! Wow, I am really sorry! Well, I think the events in this chapter will make up for all that terrible, terrrible, waiting.**

**TheAngryPrincess13:** heh, heh, heh, I am evil, aren't I? ;) Your wish is granted...

**Karen: **Phew! I'm glad _some _people liked the last chapter. I'm hardly ever sure I do things realistically...especially since I didn't live back then.

**Rachel:** I can dig it, you can dig it, she can dig it, he dig it, baby can you dig it? Okay, just had to add that one in...Glad you approve!

**Streetpanther1:** Ah, the infamous Mr. Winston reviewing MY story! I'm so excited! Okay, but anyways, glad you liked so far...PS, Lords of Flatbush rules!!!

**Catherine: **Finally! I was waiting for someone to actually say something about the movie! "Speech"? Well, I'm glad you view it as a speech. I suddenly feel rather authoritative...No more weird names for new characters! Okay, maybe that wasn't quite as good....

**Ponyboys-girl3:** Well, Soda is always there for some good advice, but with this one, he can't really say too much...see below!

**HazleSilver:** lol, me sneaky too! I'm happy you finally let me...

**Chapter 6: The Other Side Of Town**

"Soda", I asked, already running out of breath, "where we going?"

He just remained silent and pulled up the collar on our dad's old worn leather jacket. I had never really seen him so determined to get to one place; the whole time, he stared straight ahead and walked briskly in a constant rhythm. I, on the other hand, probably looked like an escaped convict, looking all around me and what not.

"...Though you treat me badly, I love you madly, you've really got a hold on me..." I whispered quietly to myself and lighting a cigarette at the same time.

Lately, I had started singing to myself when I was nervous–an unknown talent, I guess.

After a few minutes, we reached the Dingo.

"Eh, Soda, whatta we doing _here_? Aren't they closed?"

I was a little–okay, _extremely_ nervous about being out this late at night. Normally, Soda would be the one nervous for _me_, but I guess whatever he was going to show was real important.

"Will ya stop asking so many questions, Pone? Just wait 'till we get there."

So I waited...and waited....and waited...and by the time I was done waiting, we were probably about three or four miles from home, outside of what looked like a night club called "The Underground".

I didn't want to bother Soda anymore, so I just kept my mouth shut as we went inside.

Well, I found that to be quite difficult, considering that for the first time in my life, I (besides my brother of course) was the only white person in the room...and now that I thought about it, probably the whole neighborhood we had just finished walking through. Every person in the room turned and stared at our figures moving across the floor. Soda to my surprise, didn't seem to be noticing any of this, which I found to be the hardest thing to believe.

"Soda!" I heard from somewhere around me.

Soda turned and waved at some person I couldn't see and began heading through the crowd of people towards some tables in the corner.

A girl probably in her early twenties sat alone at a round table, smoking a cigarette. As was everyone else in there, she was black and looked rather excited–to see Soda I guess. I knew Soda was a big ladies man or whatever, but I never knew girls liked him _this _much.

"Hey, Soda, what are you doing here!" she exclaimed as he leaned down to give her a quick peck on the cheek.

Still gazing at my surroundings, I planted myself next my brother.

"I gotta ask you something," Soda began, glancing at me.

"What," the girl asked straightening her dress out, "You know you can ask me anything."

"Could you...You got a smoke, Pony?"

Obviously, this was really bothering him to ask me for a cigarette. I knew the whole thing was kinda controversial and everything, but it's gotta be pretty big to bug Soda. I gave him my next to last one and lit for him.

After a long drag, he continued, "Could you tell him the story...'bout...you and...you know."

The girl looked a little taken back for a second at the suggestion.

"Why?"

"God, I–" he ran his hand through his blondish hair and sighed heavily, "I don't even know why I came here...I mean at the middle of the night and everything...If I had just thought for a second..."

"Soda, just calm down, alright?" The girl paused for a second and looked at me, then stuck out her hand, "Gina Wright," she said putting on a small smile, "You his brother?"

I nodded and shook her hand after a moment's hesitation, "Yeah. 'Name's Ponyboy."

"You guys want somethin' to drink?"

"Pepsi," I stated, lighting another cigarette. Soda just shook his head.

She cleared her throat and waved over a nearby waiter and ordered my Pepsi and a Scotch for herself.

"You drink Scotch," I asked, trying to sound nonchalant about it. It was just that she looked younger than twenty-one (A/N: was that the age back then??), "I mean, aren't you too young?"

She laughed slightly and shook her head. "Hell, they don't give a damn. It's just business, ya know?"

The waiter came back with our drinks then and gave Soda and I a look...much like a Soc would. There was a moment of silence during which Gina just stared at Soda and Soda just stared back and I just stared at the two of them. I was still trying to sort all this out: _Soda knows a black girl, There's some story behind the whole thing, Soda's probably been here before..._

"Ey, Ponyboy, how old are you?" she asked suddenly, as if it depended on her next breath.

"Fourteen."

She nodded approvingly, "I have cousin that age...She just moved down here."

_Jackie! Cousin! Gina! Wow, this is too much–_

Before I even had the chance to say anything, Soda spoke up, "Gina, c'mon, tell him."

I guess she had been trying to avoid the subject, because when he said that, she just blew out a tuft of smoke and crossed her legs.

"Tell me what?" I was beginning to get frustrated with the whole thing, not to mention, tired.

"What you're getting yourself into, Ponyboy," Soda started, his voice beginning to rise, "Me _and _Darry tried to tell you, but you just won't listen–"

I stood up, almost knocking over my chair. "Just leave me alone, Soda. I thought you understood." Gina looked embarrassed at what she had played a part in causing. I guess I felt that I couldn't leave her feeling guilty or that I didn't like her or anything, so I added, "'Night, Gina. It was nice meeting you."

I don't know what had ever gotten into me. Her house was just...calling my name. I went around the back and peered into the windows, looking for her bedroom. I tapped on her window just lightly enough for her to wake up, but hopefully not loudly enough to be heard in any of the other rooms in the house. She turned over awful fast suggesting that she probably wasn't asleep in the first place. She motioned for me to turn around and I did as I was told. For a second, I pondered whether to just run back to my house while I could or to stay, but she opened the window, fully dressed before I could make up my mind.

"Pony, what the hell are you doin' here?"

I couldn't even answer the question, just kept staring at her. Her hair was braided into loose pigtails which were pinned together at the back of her head. Her eyes were narrowed at me, but she didn't look quite angry, just thoughtful. She was wearing a black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off that read "MC5: the Motor City Five" on the front in big white letters and some ripped jeans.

"Can't I come in?" I asked, sounding a little too needy. She thought about it for a minute, then stepped out of my way as I hauled myself up and into her window.

"You still didn't answer my question," she said, sitting on her bed.

I shrugged and began looking through her record collection. She sighed and flopped down on her back with her arms spread out at her sides.

**Jackie's POV**

Surprised as I was, I was glad he was here. I watched him as he flipped through the collection of albums I had acquired over the years. There was only a light trace of grease in his hair which made him look a lot different...but in a good way. I mean, he just looked more like a little kid or something. I had never had a boy in my room before at this time of night and certainly not when my mother wasn't here. She had to work from seven-thirty p.m. all the way until six in the morning, leaving me here alone every night.

"Hey, Jackie," he said suddenly and I felt the weight of him sitting down beside me. That got me kind of nervous, so I sat up and faced him, "You got any cousins living down here?"

I was a little caught off gaurd by his question, but nodded anyway.

My closest cousin, Gina Wright, lived just on the other side of Tulsa. She was seventeen, three years older than me, but she also did things I dare not repeat–nothing dirty though, just wild.

"And let me guess, her name's Gina, right?"

I nodded, kind of confused about how he could possibly know that. He stood back up and headed over to my records again, pulling one out.

"Iggy and the Stooges," he read aloud, turning it over to the back, "They any good?"

"Yeah," I muttered, deciding to drop the subject of my cousin, "they're pretty cool, but you should hear these guys."

I picked up my MC5 album and handed it to him proudly.

"The Motor City Five, huh?" he read from my shirt with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, they're amazing."

He nodded and head over to my window.

"Well I'm gettin' tired...you mind if I borrow this?"

I shook my head and smiled at him...Lord, he sure was good looking. I could see it in his eyes that he was real tired, so I didn't protest when he lifted up the window and hopped out.

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

I nodded and sat on the window sill. I wondered what he would do if I just leaned down and kissed him square on lips...well I guess he probably would have been quite happy about the whole thing, considering he did it before I could. It wasn't anything big, just a quick peck, but it was a kiss all the same. We stared at each other for a few moments and I felt my face grow hot under his gaze.

"Bye Jackie," he finally muttered. Then he turned and jogged towards his house.

**Okay, I had no idea how to end this...oh yeah and this will be last chapter for at least a week 'cause I just found out I'm going to New York City on Wednesday. Hopefully, by the time I get back, I'll have a bunch of ideas in my head and I'll get the next chapter up immediately....what am I telling you this for? You guys are used to waiting super long times anyway, so a week'll probably be nothing. Anywho, in the mean time, review!**


	7. Kick Out the Jams

**Umm...did I mention that it's 1969? No? Well...uh...it is. Why? Just so I can get some allusions in and have them be right. So, Pony is not fourteen. He's sixteen. That's terrible isn't it? Yes...yes, I think so. Well, I _wasn't_ going to update this story until I finished "the Boy in the Next Row" so it would be less time consuming doing both...but now I'm getting all these great ideas for that fic and besides, I've already started on another one for the movie _Stand By Me_. Kind of defeats the purpose, huh?**

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own the Outsiders for one, and the lyrics down below are credited to the amazing band the MC5!**

**Chapter 7: Kick Out the Jams**

**Ponyboy's P.O.V.**

Shit, why did I have to go and _kiss_ her? I mean, yes, I wanted to, but that certainly does not make it a good decision. Just another thing to prove Darry right when he says that I don't use my head. But I'm not going to tell Darry am I? No. I'm not going to tell anyone...not even Soda. I can't even talk to him now because I'm supposed to still be mad at him about last night. I'm sixteen now and I want him to be fully aware of the fact that he just can't walk all over me. God, he must have been high the other night or something! Why would he take me to some club way the hell across town to talk to some girl who I never knew even existed? And what was this story he needed to tell me so badly? Why couldn't he just tell me himself?

Well, I just plain didn't want to think about that. I didn't want to think about Jackie either.

I was laying on my bed with my arms and legs stretched out over the edges to either side of me, staring up at the ceiling. I'd avoided Jackie that day, not knowing how she had taken the kiss. I wasn't good with that type of stuff anyway.

I stared around the room, looking for something to keep me busy. My eyes landed on the album Jackie had given me the previous night to listen to. I stood up and picked it up off of my dresser. _Kick Out the Jams_...interesting. I took the album out of the sleeve and set it on the turntable and placed the needle on the edge.

"'Ramblin' Rose'" I read aloud from the back cover. I wondered what music Jackie could possibly be so crazy over when suddenly...

"BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THE TIME HAS COME FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU TO DECIDE..."

I immediately turned the volume down and closed the door.

"WHETHER YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE PROBLEM OR WHETHER YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE SOLUTION. YOU MUST CHOOSE, BROTHERS YOU MUST CHOOSE IT TAKES FIVE SECONDS...FIVE SECONDS OF DECISION...FIVE SECONDS TO REALIZE YOUR PURPOSE HERE ON THE PLANET. IT TAKES FIVE SECONDS TO REALIZE THAT IT'S TIME TO MOVE, TIME TO GET DOWN WITH IT, BROTHERS...IT'S TIME TO...**KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKERS!**"

My eyes widened and I picked up the needle and the room was silent. I wondered if anyone had heard that..._God, if they did_, I thought wildly, _they'd think I was starting a riot or something in here. _I was confused and slightly overwhelmed as to why Jackie would have this, nonetheless ask me to listen to it. That was the type of stuff you heard the colored speakers and the hippies and those members of the SDS talking about with their fists in the air and people with sunglasses behind them with their arms crossed...or maybe even guns in their hands. I wondered if Jackie knew about that type of stuff, whether she _cared _about it at fifteen rather; everyone knew about that. In fact, I was almost annoyed that she'd thrown that type of stuff into my life. I didn't much care about politics; I mean, I had an idea of what I thought about Vietnam and all that stuff, but I wouldn't go out and participate in marches or nothing. I had no clue how people could feel so strongly about something that they would even go to jail maybe for life because of it.

I didn't mind black people like other people did; they were on the bottom just like me, so I understood how they felt. And I could even see why they were so angry about being treated certain ways 'cause I know I'm tired of it. However, that was about it for me. I mean, who were these white guys with afros and dishikis from Detroit? And what did they mean by "brothers and sisters"? I'd heard the Panthers and people like that say "brothers and sisters", but I didn't know how that applied to these guys.

Finally, realizing that I was perhaps being too silly and that the record was still spinning, I placed the needle on the innermost ring, causing the album to slow to a stop. Then, I turned it over and placed the needle on the second ring (I wasn't taking chances with the first).

_Ya know the Motor City's burning babe._

_There ain't a thing in the world that they can do._

_Ya know, the Motor City is burning people_

_There ain't a thing that white society can do..._

I took a slip of paper out of the album sleeve to see if they'd really said..._white society_. I'd heard right; I continued reading the lyrics:

_My home town burning down to the ground,_

_worser than Vietnam._

_Let me tell you tell you how it started now_

_it started on 12th & Clairmount that morning._

_It made the pig cops all jump & shout, _

_Ah said, it started on 12th & Clairmount that morning, _

_It made the pigs in the street freak out. T_

_he fire wagons kept comin', baby, but the Black Panther snipers wouldn't let them put it out wouldn't let them put it out, wouldn't let them put it out. _

It was the strangest music I'd ever heard...nothing like Elvis or Bobby Day that I still preferred over the tunes of the day. This was like the stuff you could hear on the radio if you went into the city like Cream and The Blues Magoos...stuff like that. Stuff that I'd never quite heard. I liked it for some wild reason. Maybe it was that if Darry heard me listening to it or one of the guys, they'd think I'd turned hippie. But a lot of the guys weren't around so much to hear what I was listening to or to really care; we still hung out just about everyday, but Soda was just about to move out on his own and so was Two-Bit (finally, right?). Darry was the same as ever, except that he'd been promoted and was around a little bit more; Dallas only hung around me for kicks now and I hardly ever saw Steve anymore since him and that girl got married...Joyce, I think her name was.I could tell Johnny. I don't know if he listens to that music much or not or if he'd care or not...well, I didn't much feel like telling anyone for the time being.

It's only music, but it really was some kind of music. It was _my_ music, I guess; mine and Jackie's.

I didn't regret kissing her that much anymore now and was actually looking forward to seeing her the next day at school. I was wondering if she had anymore records like that.

_**School, the next day.**_

"Hey, Jackie!" I said, breathless from having to catch with her on the stairwell.

"Hi, Ponyboy." She smiled politely at me then, as an afterthought, added, "did you ever get the chance to listen to my record?"

"Yeah," I said, as we reached her locker, "It was amazing. Do you have any more?"

I'd said this all in one breath, and began attempting to calm down.

"Um...sure. So, you liked it?"

She looked more than surprised at the fact that I had asked for more

"Oh yeah..._yeah_." I said, for emphasis. "Do you have any more."

She looked absolutely...delighted. Yeah, that's the perfect word: delighted. "Well, that's their only album so far, but I've got plenty of psychedelic stuff that I got up in New Jersey."

_New Jersey..._I thought vaguely, _the possibilities._

"Well, do you think it would be all right if we listened to them at your house?" I asked in a level voice, but I was eager as ever inwardly.

She seemed hesitant to answer this. I wondered if I'd said something wrong. "Well...I guess. My mom's working until six, so I guess that's alright."

The bell rang and she said that she was going in the opposite direction. I briefly considered saying something about the other night, but decided against it and headed off to class.

**Okay, I feel really bad for just changing the time now...but it really bothers me about having everything right in my stories. I kind of like this chapter (hope _you_ did) just because I could ramble on about my fav. groups, even though Ponyboy was kinda OOC (and it was short)...well, please review!**

**P.S. **thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 6: streetpanther1, Ahelpless-Pyro (thank God someone thinks that I've done good on this whole time-period thing), catherine (I can hardly believe that I haven't updated in seven months), Dreamer for lyf (...what questions?raises eyebrow suspiciously), a458sbcglobal, clear-sparkle, and Johnny-cakes-Depp (Steve'll be in and out of the story, maybe in the next chapter).


End file.
